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New 24/192 dac from china-nice! - Page 9

post #121 of 1340
10/11/05 at 2:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by grawk
So Jahn,

Would you think that the zhaolu dac would be a good balanced input for a balanced m3?
Rats we didn't have a balanced pair of ICs to test that out unfortunately, so I can't answer that. Sorry!
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post #122 of 1340
10/11/05 at 4:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jahn
Zhalou DAC is fine. HF-1 is cool (just couldn't use the STAX out of the Zhalou's headphone out hehe).

Zhalou's integrated headphone amp = arse.
Got ya! Huh, that's too bad. I was wondering if the amp section might be decent. Nothing like a simple system with less boxes and cables! I wonder if the opamps were taken out and put in sockets for something like OPA627. Thanks for the impressions. Post more!
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post #123 of 1340
10/11/05 at 4:27pm
Thread Starter 
[QUOTE=Jahn]This proves that system matching is key. A nice DAC is important, but it has to be paired with the right amp too, etc.

No 2 systems are created equal. Matching is the most important thing!And is why most people give up on this hobby.They may have supreme equipment,but it is mismatched.

I don"t use the headphone section of the dac ,but 2 channel on MY SYSTEM sounds awesome.

It seems like the some of the higher end players attempt to SMOOTH things out-At times too smooth for me.

The best older sounding dac i had was the Meitner IDAT.


As good as the dac sounds i do believe the upsampling can be improved.I may even send it too ref mods for a new upsampling board.I had david mod a samsung dvd player for using as a transport.He told me that he listened to it with the modified dac -ah and he was extremely impressed.

I am curious on how the dac-ah sounds with the ref mod?
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post #124 of 1340
10/11/05 at 4:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sean H
Got ya! Huh, that's too bad. I was wondering if the amp section might be decent. Nothing like a simple system with less boxes and cables! I wonder if the opamps were taken out and put in sockets for something like OPA627. Thanks for the impressions. Post more!
I like simple also. Right now the unbalanced signal goes out and splits between the headphone jack and RCA jacks. You could rewire it so it goes directly to headphone section. The plug on the PCBs look the same. I was planning on just deactivating the headphone section on mine BUT if I were to keep it, I'd do that change and use the XLRs + XLR-> RCA adaptors.
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post #125 of 1340
10/11/05 at 4:59pm
The headphone jack isn't THAT bad. There's nothing offensive about the sound. No negative traits is a good thing. To me the jack on my 1820m is a little rough and the DAC1's jack has a whole in the middle killing the soundstage. So the zhalou's jack is livable.
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post #126 of 1340
10/11/05 at 5:03pm
3 cheers for livable! I guess it didn't bowl me over because of the other amp alternatives we had on hand - unfair comparisons are...unfair.
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post #127 of 1340
10/11/05 at 5:16pm
I finally got the 1.3. Don't insure your shipping unless you want to pay customs duty ($38), at least in Canada. Letting it burn in now for the next 48 hours. Couldn't help test it initially. Sounded harsh and brittle. Looking forward to burn in nirvana!
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post #128 of 1340
10/11/05 at 5:29pm
skysaxon, keep us apraise of your burnin journey. It should change over time. The Sanyo OSCONs will take more than 48 hours though.
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post #129 of 1340
10/11/05 at 5:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lan
skysaxon, keep us apraise of your burnin journey. It should change over time. The Sanyo OSCONs will take more than 48 hours though.
Thanks, Ian. Oh, I'll be jumping in an giving it a listen every once in a while.

Any recommendations on burn-in time?
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post #130 of 1340
10/11/05 at 6:16pm
Thread Starter 
I heard the same thing when i first recieved the dac.Bright and conjested.It did take some burn in time.

I just recieved the new op-amp from lawrence today.I think the dy2000 to replace the analog op-amp.I wish i had the time to install it right now.Between study and work i don't seem to have alot of time left right now.
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post #131 of 1340
10/11/05 at 7:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RogerWilco
I heard the same thing when i first recieved the dac.Bright and conjested.It did take some burn in time.

I just recieved the new op-amp from lawrence today.I think the dy2000 to replace the analog op-amp.I wish i had the time to install it right now.Between study and work i don't seem to have alot of time left right now.
Despite the initial harshness, after only a couple of hours I can detect an airiness to the sound. It's still quite thin but the upper midrange has a silkiness to it I'm already hooked on. Lively presentation. But the rest of the range has yet to come through. No warmth yet. It's still one-dimensional and cold. Only 148 hours burn-in to go!
Perhaps that will change and I'm optimistic. Good call, RogerWilco! Looking forward to your appraisal of the DY2000. I'm also looking for comments on the upgrade to the clock and especially the power supply, which has gotten raves for the upgrade on a Chinese forum.
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post #132 of 1340
10/11/05 at 7:41pm
I'd say 150 hours or about a week is good burnin time.

This DAC seem modular. You can order different parts/boards? What are the other options available?
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post #133 of 1340
10/11/05 at 7:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lan
This DAC seem modular. You can order different parts/boards? What are the other options available?
Yes, the DAC is actually a DIY kit in China. You can perform many mods. They are available from Lawrence (source for the 1.3).

There is the opamp DY2000 for $35 (incl shipping) that is supposedly "immensely" better than the existing op-amp. Roger Wilco just got it so stay tuned for his observations.

More promising is the $80 power supply upgrade which had some people raving on the Chinese forum linked earlier in this thread. Power supply upgrades in my experience usually lead to the biggest improvements of anything in hifi.

There is also a $50 clock upgrade. I've emailed Lawrence to find out more about these upgrades and which he recommends. I'll post anything interesting he has to offer.

My only reservation is how easy these upgrades are to peform. I am ALL thumbs when it comes to electronics.
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post #134 of 1340
10/11/05 at 8:44pm
Yeah I'd like to know in detail what the upgrades are though. It would make sense to get multiple boards shipped to the states instead of each of us spending insane more $ on shipping.
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post #135 of 1340
10/13/05 at 2:00am
Here's Lawrence's email regarding the upgrades:

I'll like to suggest as below with respect to the priority of improvement .
1) change the op amp , $30 each ( highly recommendedsince it is easy and economy ).
2) change a more accurate clock , $70 , since if the clock is accurate , the coherence of the sound wave will be more sharp . That means the sound will be more detailed , solid , outstanding . Even you can feel the length of the string if the record is good. ( not recommended since you need to send back the DAC , unless you can do it by yourself )
3) change a more serious build power supply , $80. Since the component of this DAC is a economy industrial grade , change to Hi End component and
separate regulators will improve the sound . ( not recommended since you need to send back the DAC, unless you can do it by yourself ).

Of course , you are wellcome to send back the DAC for upgrade or any problem ( in case ) .But my suggestion is don't invest too much on DAC , it unlike Tube amp , such as Macintosh 270 , digital will depreciate quickly when it outdate . Small money and big return is my direction .
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